Recipes at Home-Ec101.com are family favorites. The recipes are not always the most traditional version as, unless otherwise noted, they have been customized to meet the needs of a beginner to intermediate home cook.

Heather says: I absolutely love albondigas soup, it’s a family favorite, but sometimes I just don’t have the energy to mess with rolling the meatballs. Sometimes I just can’t bring myself to care that much. So on a whim one evening, when I had planned on making the original albondigas, I looked at it and…

Heather says: A few weeks ago I mentioned that I would be trying to increase the amount and variety of fish we eat. This week I decided to try out steelhead trout. Looking at the picture, you may think to yourself, Heather has gone off her rocker (again) that looks just like salmon. There’s a…

Heather says: If you purchase a side of beef, there will always be a few less desirable cuts. For our family it’ the beef short ribs, with three small children beef ribs are anything but a go-to meal. Get out the napkins, this is worth the mess. This recipe works well either in the oven…

Heather says: There’s a rule of thumb when cooking dishes that involve wine: don’t use anything you wouldn’t drink. What if you don’t drink wine or what if you just don’t like the kind of wine called for in a recipe? I know if you look at my wine rack, you’ll usually only find cab,…

For a full breakdown on exactly how to fry chicken, I invite you to check out Buttermilk Fried Chicken. Heather says: We don’t fry chicken often, but sometimes when chicken thighs are well under $1 per pound the temptation is overwhelming. Recently we had a long conversation on the hidden sources of high fructose corn…

Heather says: Here is an updated recipe for making fettuccine noodles from scratch. I should do this again very, very soon. Or maybe I shouldn’t look at this when I’m hungry. Homemade Noodles A (Very)Basic Tutorial It won’t be long before someone whose traditional, Italian grandmother taught them how to make noodles chimes in and…

Heather says: While I will always prefer the beer battered and deep fried fish, this version is a close second and is much healthier. Nearly any white-fleshed fish will do: cod, walleye, or whiting for example. If you would like the chips done completely in the oven, follow the directions for these potato wedges, omitting…

Heather says: Traditional Shepherd’s pie contains lamb, gravy, and vegetables, covered with mashed potatoes. Its close cousin cottage pie contains beef. This version substitutes vegetable stock for the broth used to make the gravy and contains kidney beans to provide protein. As the mashed potatoes contain milk and are topped with cheese, this one dish*…